Universal base for pumping unit



Nov. l, 1960 M. A. Rx-:MKE ETAL UNIVERSAL BASE FOR PUMPING UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 24, 1956 u ED SKR E R A f HMH. n \m @uw mv wm Nm om WE NN @n 1 n; vm Q wm t@ ON .VN .f/ QSMM.- l ve @n N :2% @lv om; .wM. ,w l I, v s UM/WM rw by,

Nov. 1, 1960 M. A. REMKE ETAL UNIVERSAL BASE FOR PUMPING UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 24, 1956 Y MED E OKR N N B 0 EEE T VRH .I MAG. ,fr A

BYZ

Nov. 1, 1960 M. A. REMKE El" AL UNIVERSAL BASE FOR PUMPING UNIT Filed Sept. 24, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TORS M. A. REM/'(5' G. G. HEB/4R0 www A TTO/PN'EVS United States Patent Oiitice 2,958,489 Patented Nov. 1, 1960 UNIVERSAL BASE FDR PUMPING UNIT Marvin A. Reinke and Glen G. Hebard, Bartlesville,

Okla., assignors to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 24, 1956, Ser. No. 611,629

13 Claims. (Cl. 248-23) This invention relates to an improved base or foundation for pumping units of various sizes and designs. At the present time portab-le pumping unit bases are being manufactured which must be custom designed for each specific make and size of pumping unit. 'There are considerably more than 200 pumping units of different variations in size and design. Therefore. when a base is or` dered for any one unit the base must be built from special drawings which makes it practically impossible to build up a stock of bases.

In oil field production, larger more powerful pumping units are required when production of oil is heavy, particularly during primary recovery and as the oil iield becomes depleted and production declines, it is more economical to utilize smaller pumping units and to move the larger pumping units to more productive fields where production is heavier. In situations where the pumping unit is set on a concrete base poured at the site tot a particular unit and motor, it is current practice to break up the poured concrete foundation and repour a new foundation for the particular smaller sized unit selected for the job. The use of portable prestressed foundations have recently come into use and these are moved to a new site without destroying the same and are replaced by a smaller portable base suitable for the smaller unit.

We have devised a pumping unit base or foundation which will accommodate a wide range of pumping unit and motor sizes and designs so that when one of these bases is set at the well site for a suitable unit for initial and primary production the change to a smaller unit of the same or different design may be effected without disturbing the base. Our newly designed base renders it possible and practical to build up a supply of bases which may be utilized at practically any site for a wide variety of production requirements.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved base for pumping units. Another object is to provide a base which will accommodate pumping units of various sizes and designs. A further object is tol provide a prestressed portable base for pumping units of a wide range of sizes and designs. It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved base for an oil pumping unit which permits changing the size of the pumping unit as oil production is varied without changing the base. Other objects of the invention will become ap parent from a consideration of the accompanying disclosure.

In order to provide a clear understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pumping unit and motor installed on a base designed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan View of the base of Figure 1 (without the motor and pumping unit); Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3; Figure 5 is an elevational view of the base of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of a stressing rod arrangement and attaching means for handling the base of the invention; and Figures 7 and 8 are fragmentary views showing other embodiments of a stressing member arrangement for prestressed bases. Corresponding parts of the various figures are correspondingly numbered.

Referring to Figure 1, a prestressed concrete base it? supports a conventional pumping unit 12 and a motor 14 which is shown as an electric motor but may be a gas, gasoline, diesel, or other type engine. A belt 16 connects the driving pulley of motor 14 with the driven pulley of the pumping unit. Base 10 comprises a prestressed concrete slab, prestressed by means of heavy rods 18 provided with threaded ends on which nuts 2t) are tightened against anged plates 22 (angle iron) to the desired tension. Washers 24 are utilized in this arrangement but may be omitted if desired. Suicient stressing rods are utilized to assure the prevention of breakage of the concrete base during transportation to the site and during use of the base at the site. A series of vertical rectangular slots 26 are positioned longitudinally of the base and adjacent the center line thereorfor positioning attaching means and rendering same accessible as further discussed in connection with Figure 2.

Grooved rails 30 are imbedded in the surface of the slab adjacent the end thereof opposite the pumping unit and are anchored therein as described in connection with Figure 4. These parallel spaced-apart transverse rails are grooved so as to accommodate bolt heads which are slidable therein and which provide attaching means for motor 14. A second pair of grooved rails 32 are positioned longitudinally of the base in spaced apart relation to accommodate the distance between the bolts 34 and motor bracket 36. A pair of longitudinal rails 32 are provided with a flange 38 which co-operates with ears 40 to clamp the longitudinal rails to the transverse rails by means of bolts 42. This arrangement provides for a wide range of positioning of bolts 34 both longitudinally and transversely of the base to accommodate a wide range of motor sizes and designs because of the slidability of bolts 42 in transverse rails 3l? and bolts 34 in longitudinal rails 32. Other types of attaching means than the arrangement shown may be used so long as they are adjustable and eectively clamp the rails together.

Brake lever control 44 is conventional and forms no part of the invention. Pumping unit 12 is conventionally provided with a heavy iron frame 46 of box construction and the attachment device for this construction is shown more clearly in Figure 2 which is now referred to. A heavy iron pipe 48 is imbedded in the concrete slab and runs longitudinally thereof thru rectangular slots 26 intermediate the upper level and the lower level of the pairs of stressing rods. A U-bolt Sti catches pipe 48 and passes thru a clamping pipe 52 which engages the upper surfaces of box beams 46 supporting the pumping unit. U-bolt 50 is threaded at the ends so that nuts 54 can be adjusted to provide the desired tension on pipes 4S and 52 to hold the pumping unit firmly in place during operation. Usually four of these attachment devices are utilized to hold down the pumping unit, two of which are visible in Figure 1. By utilizing U-bolts of the required length and size, the construction shown permits adaptability to practically any size of pumping unit because of the possibility of attachment to pipe 4S along Ia substantial section such as 2/a or more of the base.

In some installations, base 10 is positioned on sills (not shown) which provides an alternate attaching means thru slots 26 effected by positioning eye-bolts or other xed rigid attaching means in the sill so that U-bolts 50 may extend on down to the attaching means in the sill. Eye bolts may also be used to connect pipe 52 with the eye-bolt in the sill. In any event slots 26 are essential to both types of attachment.

Figure 3 shows the arrangement of attaching pipe 43 in the base'. It is not absolutely essential to extend pipe 48 thru the section of the base in which the motor is positioned, but so doing adds strength to the attachment structure. A second pair of longitudinal rails 56 are imbedded in the surface of the slab intermediate transverse rails 30 and the position of the pumping unit in order to provide attaching means for equipment guards surrounding the motor and pump unit for safety reasons. These rails may be of any suitable construction, such as that of rails 30, which permits attachment of bolts for fastening the guards. Figure 4 shows, particularly, the manner of imbedding and anchoring rails 30 and 46v in the concrete. Angular steel members 60 are welded to rail 30 so that when concrete is poured around them they function to anchor and impart rigidity to the rails. Angular steel members 62 attached to rails 56 perform a simi-lar function.

Figure 5 is self-explanatory when considered in the light of the discussion of the previous figures.

Figure 6 shows a special type plate 64 which may be substituted for one of plates 22 at a suitable location on the base, such as the end thereof or along the side thereof adjacent the center of gravity of the base so that ring 66 may be advantageously utilized for handling the base by means of a hook and suitable hoist attached thereto. Double flanges 6% on plate 64 provide the necessary strength for the purpose intended.

Figure 7 shows an embodiment of the prestressing structure of the base utilizing pretensioned cables 70 in lieu of rods 18 in conventional manner. Figure 8 shows an embodiment of the prestressing structure in which plates 22 are omitted and heavy washers '72 are utilized to distribute the compression pressure on the concrete adjacent rods 18.

While the structure described herein is particularly advantageous when applied to prestressed portable bases, it is also useful and advantageous when applied to bases poured at the site, with or without the prestressing feature, in view of the fact that the versatility of the structure permits the changing of pumping units and motors without reconstruction or modication of the base itself. However, the most useful application of the invention is in the production of prestressed portable bases so that a large supply of these bases may be constructed and built up to supply the demand for such bases without resorting to the custom building of bases for specilic units.

Certain modifications of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art and the illustrative details disclosed are not to be construed as imposing unnecessary limitations on the invention.

We claim:

l. A base for a pump-operating unit and motor for driving same comprising in combination a horizontally elongated concrete slab having a series of spaced-apart upright slots along its `length intermediate its edges for positioning attaching means for said pump-operating unit on an end section thereof; a first pair of parallel spaced-apart rails imbedded in the top of said slab in the opposite end section thereof having grooved attaching means for a second pair of rails; a second pair of rails transverse to said iirst pair and removably and slidably attached thereto to permit both transverse and longitudinal movement thereof relative to said slab; and motor attaching Imeans on said second pair of rails.

2. The base of claim l including both longitudinal and transverse stressing members in said slab to prevent cracking and breakage thereof during transportation and use.

3. The basev of claim 2 wherein said longitudinal stressing members traverse said slab on each side of said slots and said transverse stressing members traverse said slab intermediate said slots.

4. A portable base for a pump-operating unit and motor for driving same comprising in combination an elongated generally rectangular prestressed horizontal concrete slab having a series of elongated spaced-apart upright slots in an end section thereof aligned longitudinally of said slab; horizontal anchoring means irnbedded in said concrete substantially below the top surface thereof and running thru said slots; longitudinal stressing members running thru said concrete on each side of said slots; transverse stressing members running thru said concrete intermediate said slots and intermediate the end slots and the end of said slab; a pair of transverse spaced-apart parallel rails imbedded in the top surface of said slab in the opposite end section thereof having longitudinal grooves therein for holding a bolt head; and a pair of grooved longitudinal rails spacedv apart on said transverse rails and adjustably attached thereto to permit transverse and longitudinal adjustment, the grooves therein being adapted to hold a bolt head for attaching to a motor. y

5. The base of claim 4 wherein saidkstressing members comprise pairs of adjacent vertically alignedrods stressed by means of nuts threaded on the ends thereof against anged plates.

6. The base of claim 5 including a ring memberuattached to one of said plates for hoisting and handling said base. K Y

7. The base of claim 4 wherein said anchoringrrieans comprises a longitudinal rigid tube of lesser diameter than the width. of said slots and including attaching means for said pump-operating unit comprising a trans- Verse rigid tube connected to said longitudinal tube in one of said slots by a U-bolt extending around said longitudinal tube with its arms extending thru said transverse tube and having a nut threaded on each arm b eyond said transverse tube, said arms being of" sutiici'ent length to accommodate a pump-operating unit base beam between said transverse tube and the top of said base.

8. A base for a pump-operating unit and motor comprising inV combination an elongated concrete slab; a series of elongated slots in said slab aligned longitudinally of said slab adjacent a centerline thereof; an elongated rigid member of lesser width than the width ofsaidv slots extending thru said slots and imbedded in said slab well below its top surface to provide attaching and anchoring means for pump-operating units of different sizes at several points along said centerline; a pair of parallel spaced-apart transverse rails imbedded in said slab adjacent one end thereof having grooved attaching means therein running longitudinally of said rails; and apair of longitudinal rails adjustably attached to saidtransverse rails and adapted to be spaced apart at variable distances and slidable longitudinally of said slab to accommodate attachment to and support of motors of various'sizesand in different positions along the surface of saidslab.

9. The base of claim 8 including a second pair of 1ongitudinal rails having grooves for holding bolts imbedded in said slab intermediate said transverse rails and4 said means for attaching said pump-operating unit, said' second pair of longitudinal rails being adapted to attach guards for equipment placed on said'base. A

10..A pump jack base comprising a body member made of concrete and including a main portion, prestressed reinforcing rods extending through said body member, opposed support portions extending outwardly from one end of said main portion, an enlarged section adjacent the other end of said main portion, there being a plurality of recesses in said body member, ribs arranged contiguous to said recesses, a horizontally disposedlongitudinally extending tubular bar embedded in said body member and extending through said ribs, a pair of spaced apart horizontally disposed I-beams extending longitudinally along the upper surface of said body member, a plurality of horizontally disposed tubular arms extending transversely across the upper portions of said I-beams, a plurality of U-bolts having their lower ends arranged in engagement with said bar and the upper ends of said U-bolts being connected to said arms, a pair of spaced parallel track members embedded in said body member and extending through the enlarged section thereof, and securing elements having heads on their lower ends engaging said track members.

1l. A pump jack base comprising a body member made of concrete and including a main portion; prestressed reinforcing rods extending through said body member; opposed support portions extending outwardly from one end of said main portion; an enlarged section adjacent the other end of said main portion; a plurality r alternate recesses and ribs n said body member extending longitudinally therein; a horizontally disposed and longitudinally extending bar embedded in said body member and extending thru said ribs, providing attach* ing means for a pump jack; a pair of spaced parallel track members embedded in the top of said enlarged section, extending transversely across same; and securing elements having heads on their lower ends engaging said track members for attaching a power unit to said enlarged section.

l2. The base of claim ll including a second pair of track members extending transversely across first said pair adjustably attached thereto for selective spacing apart and slidable longitudinally of said body member to accommodate attachment and support of motors of various sizes in a selected position along the surface of said enlarged section.

13. The base of claim 11 including a pair of spacedapart horizontally disposed I-beams extending longitudinally along the upper surface of said main portion on each side of said recesses; a plurality of horizontally disposed structural arms extending transversely across the top of said I-beams; and a plurality of upright U-bolts encircling said bar With the upper threaded ends extending thru said arms and attached thereto by nuts.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,740 Day Aug. 2l, 1934 2,019,353 Lower Oct. 29, 1935 2,498,392 Boyle Feb. 2l, 1950 2,802,632 Byers Aug. 13, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 432,103 Germany July 26, 1926 852,758 Germany Oct. 20, 1952 

